Corpus Christi, Texas-based Susser Holdings Corporation said it expects to report a same-store merchandise sales decline of about 1.2% for the fourth quarter of 2009 and growth of about 3.3% for the full year.
Retail average per-store fuel volumes are expected to decline by 5.9% versus the fourth quarter of last year, but on a full-year basis, they are expected to be up by 2.4%.
Full-year same-store sales and per-store fuel volume growth were in the middle of the company’s 2009 guidance. Both numbers exclude the impact of the 53rd week in 2009, for comparison against the prior year.
“Last year was the 21st consecutive year that Susser realized positive annual same-store sales growth,” said Sam L. Susser, president and CEO in a statement. “The fourth quarter merchandise comparison reflects the fact that the recession accelerated in Texas in the last part of 2009. Our fourth quarter retail fuel volume also compares against a three-month period of increasing gasoline demand a year earlier, fueled by falling prices at the pump. The company was cycling up against growth in same-store merchandise of 6.5% and in average per-store fuel volume of 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008.”
Susser Holdings operates more than 520 convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma under the Stripes and Town & Country banners.